Ficci CASCADE launches awareness campaign to fight against smuggling

New Delhi, Aug 5 (PTI) Ficci Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Destroying the Economy (CASCADE) on Saturday launched an awareness campaign against illicit trade that impedes economic growth.

The campaign, titled #BeACASCADER, was organised to engage with people and create awareness of the detrimental consequences of illicit trade, Ficci CASCADE said in a statement.

Due to smuggling and illicit trade, tax loss has witnessed a whopping 163 per cent rise from 2010 to 2020, the statement said, quoting a report titled 'Illicit Markets: A Threat to Our National Interests'.

The financial implication of this was Rs 58,521 crore across five sectors, including alcoholic beverages, mobile phones, FMCG-household and personal goods, FMCG-packaged foods and tobacco products, it said.

During the decade, the tax losses incurred by the government from the alcohol industry witnessed an astronomical surge of over 508 per cent, while the increase in tax loss from the FMCG packaged foods industry stood at a substantial 201 per cent and from the tobacco industry, the loss was pegged at 113 per cent.

"Illicit trade inflicts significant harm on individual industries and has a substantial negative impact on employment generation and economic growth. Illicit trade also poses a dual challenge for the government," Ficci CASCADE chairman Anil Rajput said.

Not only does it result in a loss of legitimate tax revenue, but it also demands additional allocation of resources for enforcement and public health measures, he said. PTI DP BAL BAL